CFB Writer Declares Clemson’s ‘Mini-Dynasty’ Over After Georgia Loss

One long-time college football writer says that the days of the Clemson Tigers being considered a dynasty are done.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney speak before the start of the NCAA Aflac Kickoff Game in Atlanta, on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. / Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK

It’s safe to say that the No. 14 Clemson Tigers took a huge shot in losing to the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs, 34-3, on Saturday in Atlanta.

There’s a good chance that when the latest AP Top 25 comes out on Tuesday that the Tigers (0-1) won’t be in it.

The offense looked anemic at times. The Tigers failed to score a touchdown. Even though they only scored seven points in last year’s opener with Duke, at least Clemson scored a touchdown. Dating back to 2021, the Tigers have scored seven or fewer points in three of their last four season-opening games.

But the season isn’t about the opening game of course. The season is about 12 games. Coach Dabo Swinney said no one won or lost the ACC this weekend.

But the air of inevitability that the Tigers have carried with them for the better part of a decade appears to be done, writes The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel.

He wrote that Saturday’s game looked “…like college kids against high school kids.” It wasn’t hard to tell which was which.

He pointed out, as many have, that Swinney didn’t bring in a single player from the transfer portal In fact, Clemson has that in common with the three service academies — Army, Navy and Air Force. So, aside from graduates and Tigers that transferred out, Clemson’s personnel was basically the same.

For all of that, the Tigers gained 188 yards. Clemson’s defense went blow-for-blow with the Georgia offense for a half but was buried in the second half when the Tigers’ offense could not get on track.

Mandel declared that, with that loss, “one ACC coach’s mini-dynasty officially over.”

He even traced back to the moment it all started to fall apart. In fact, it was against Georgia — just not on Saturday.

Three years earlier, these same teams opened the 2021 season, with two-time national champ Swinney coming off his sixth straight Playoff appearance, while Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart had been to one CFP in five years. Georgia won that meeting 10-3 and went on to win the next two national titles. Clemson went on to win last year’s Gator Bowl.

Swinney’s Tigers had been part of the standard in college football. Now, they’re chasing the Bulldogs, as Mandel praised Smart’s ability to embrace the transfer portal along with name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities for his players.

The contrast was apparent on Saturday. Everyone noticed, and one didn’t have to be an experienced college football writer to see it.